If you dream of playing on stage in front of thousands of people, creating a seminal masterpiece in the studio, or dropping beats at legendary dance clubs around the globe, The Manchester College should be your number one choice music college.
Why study Music in Manchester?
At the No.1 College in Greater Manchester for achievement* we offer courses for singers, musicians, DJs and studio engineers that will take your skills to the next level. Our focus will be to get you ready for a successful career in this tough, but exciting industry.
We offer a wide variety of Music college courses for every experience level for those aged 16-18, including Music Technology, Music Production and Music Performance. If you're aged 19+ and you're looking for a short course to improve your skills and knowledge in a certain area, we also offer short courses such as DJ Experiences and Turntablism.
In our state-of-the art facilities at City Campus Manchester, you will learn from experienced DJs who still perform all over the world and gigging musicians that tour the length and breadth of the country, as well as receive masterclasses from some of the best in the business.
Based in the heart of Manchester, with its legendary music scene, you will perform regularly for the public and have lots of opportunities to network.
Our Music courses are offered at City Campus Manchester. Find out more about our new facilities.
*As per the National Achievement Rates Tables 21/22
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Can you reach your potential in Music? You can with us!
Make it possible today, view our range of Music courses and apply to study at the No.1 College in Greater Manchester.
Outstanding Music Facilities
Industry standard pro gear
You’ll take your next step towards an exciting career in the music industry in the incredible facilities that we boast at our City Campus Manchester.
Our professional standard studios are unparalleled, our technology and equipment is state-of-the-art and our performance spaces are first class.
They include six recording studios, professional, industry-specification band rooms, DJ mixing booths and specialist recording equipment! You’ll also have access to rehearsal spaces where you can perfect your performance and six Mac suites running industry software such as Logic, Sibelius and Ableton, where you can fine tune your recordings.
Amazing Performance Opportunities
Play for the masses
Our students regularly light up venues across the city, including at the relentlessly successful and highly innovative Band on the Wall, where our musicians host and collaborate on a whole range of pro-level activities and real-life industry standard activities and performances.
We don't just send you out on stage with no preparation. You’ll get to spruce up your material in our suite of rehearsal rooms and two purpose-built theatres at City Campus Manchester. That's if you’re not putting your talents to use in one of the recording studios.
Take a look at the full list and imagine yourself playing to a room full of Manchester music fans and letting rip in some of these iconic venues!
Music Industry Partners
Experience a career
When you study music at The Manchester College you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the world-renowned Manchester and North-West music scene.
Our music department has long-standing links with a full ensemble of industry partners, and we work in perfect harmony to open the doors that enable you to experience an exciting career in this thriving sector.
We work with a broad range of the City's venues, seeing us create an impressive backlog of gigs that we have supported our students to produce. And for all the fun this can be it is also an amazing opportunity to experience what working in the industry is like!
Some of the music industry partners and venues we work with include:
- Band on the Wall
- The Castle: Oldham Street
- The Manchester Royal Eye Hospital
- Cotyso Studios
- Warehouse Project
- Neighbourhood Festival
- Amplify Sounds
- Albeton Live
Experienced staff
When you take a music course at The Manchester College, you’ll be taught by a team that doesn’t just talk the talk but has actually walked the walk. With experience that spans decades, and touches almost every corner of the music industry, your tutors still maintain close industry links that keep that at the cutting edge of the sectors latest developments.
Stuart Steen - Assistant Principal
Stuart is Assistant Principal for the Creative Industries department which includes Creative and Digital Media, Music, Performing Arts and Visual Arts. He is passionate about developing staff and students and their ability to become successful in whatever they do. He manages a team of experts across the Creative Industries department that are experts in their field and focused on ensuring our students develop the best possible knowledge and skills to equip and prepare them for their chosen career.
Lucy Oldham - Head of Department
Lucy has been working in arts education for 16 years, first as teacher then curriculum manager. She started life as an actress and singer with 10 years touring and rep theatre which took her far and wide.
She fell in love with working with young people through that time and has specialist experience of working with students who find traditional educational environments a challenge.
Lucy is focused on ensuring equity and equality of opportunities within the Performing Arts and Music for all the communities of Greater Manchester and is dedicated to championing young artists and enabling them to forge their way in the industry.
Steve Smith - Tutor
Steve has worked on several projects throughout his career as a freelance sound designer and computer games composer, as a studio sound engineer and an events manager working in partnership in the live sound festival circuit for the communities of Manchester. Steve has also released music close to his heart that is Jungle / DnB and cannot pass a set of decks without “having a go”.
Paul Beevers - Tutor
Paul specialises in guitar and performance. He has been involved in the Lancaster music scene for longer than he cares to remember, and has played in various bands over the years at festivals across Europe.
Paul currently plays numerous gigs each year as guitarist and bouzouki player in North West-based ceilidh band Price of My Pig.
Rosie Fortune - Tutor
Rosie has worked at the college for over 10 years and specialises in vocal technique and group performance.
She brings a wealth of industry knowledge to the classroom where she shares her first hand and current experience of the music industry with learners. She is an accomplished vocalist who performs regularly with funk, soul and disco band, Dreamer, playing floor fillers from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s at major venues across the North West. Rosie continues to attend courses and masterclasses, ensuring she is best placed to teach and coach vocalists to ensure they stand out from the crowd.
Lee Gizon - Tutor
Lee has over 25 years of experience playing and recording in live bands all over Europe, including established acts such as Muse, Arctic Monkeys and the 1975.
His music and videos have been played all over the world most recently on Radio 1, 6 Music, Radio Lancashire and MTV2.
As well as teaching Music Performance and Technology, he is still recording and performing all over the UK.
Mark McKinley - Tutor
Mark started his DJing career at the age of 15 playing venues such as Sequins, Fantazia, Mythology and the legendary Hacienda, where he won the North West DMC DJ Championships. He’s also DJ’d across the world in Malia, Ibiza, Brussels and in the US as well as at Glastonbury.
Mark has produced his own music with his DJ group, The Mix Factory, who charted in the UK singles chart and also gained success in the American charts.
Josef Ward - Tutor
Josef plays trumpet and keyboards and has performed with professional bands and artists such as Sam Lee, Aim, Mr Scruff, Roy Ayres and many more, both in the studio and on tour.
He has performed at many professional venues and festivals including Glastonbury Festival, Fuji Rock Festival (Japan), Ronnie Scotts and at Maida Vale for the John Peel Show on Radio 1.
He also specialises in music production and has released albums and remixes, and he continues to work in the studio creating original music.
Mak Dawson - Tutor
After graduating our Music Performance course in 2013, Mak is returning with a specialism in popular music songwriting. Mak has been working and performing with established touring acts around the UK and Europe including stages at major UK festivals.
Mak has also taken various roles in the music industry in Manchester, London and Leeds, and is now working to produce brand new records from upcoming bands here in Manchester.
Chris Thomas - Tutor
Chris is a soulful DJ, electronic musician and artist from Bradford who has been providing music to the jazz, soul, house and funk crowd for several years. Chris enjoys making and selecting exciting and danceable music which can keep people moving all night. He is also an avid vinyl collector with thousands of records, as well as large digital music collections.
Music courses for adults
In addition to courses for 16 to 18-year-olds, we also offer courses for adults in Music Technology and Music Production which will enable you to start from Level 1 and progress all the way through to degree level.
Our Level 1 and 2 courses are delivered one evening per week with two intakes each year: September to December and January to May.
Our Level 3 Diploma in Music Technology is delivered over three-days a week and can give you enough UCAS points to progress onto university and degree level study.
Find out more about our adult courses and apply today:
Find out more
Find out even more about our Music department in our subject area guide or on our YouTube playlist:
Download our subject area guide
Stay up-to-date with everything that's going on in our NAME department via social media:
19+ adult music courses starting 2023/24
Go further with our Centre of Excellence for Adult Education and study a 19+ adult course starting in 2023/24!
Browse our wide range of courses and apply today.
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Turn your passion for big beats into a career
Explore our degrees in Music Production & Composition.
Top Careers Opportunities
Musicians
Average Salary £42,120
DJ
Average Salary £25,000
Tido Nguyen • Pulse Music Group Songwriter and ProducerMy time at The Manchester College helped me to find my strengths and weaknesses in music and made me realize what I actually want to do in the music industry. The Manchester College was the perfect environment to experiment with my interests in song writing, producing and audio engineering.
Gaby Zacara • Musician, Songwriter and LyricistShena Simon was great for me. The people I met and support I had was invaluable. I was taught every skill I could possibly have needed to make it myself out there in the industry, and my confidence grew so much for it all.
In one of The Manchester College’s 19 Centres of Excellence you’ll develop the skills and gain the qualifications that you need to take the next steps towards your dream career.
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In our unique Industry Excellence Academy you’ll benefit from a programme of study that has been co-developed, and is co-delivered, with one of our industry partners.
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